As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Because of their mobility, consumers of information handling systems increasingly use laptops. A laptop, often referred to a “notebook”, may be a small, portable information handling system with a “clamshell” form factor including a keyboard assembly on a lower portion of the clamshell and a display assembly comprising a thin liquid crystal display screen or light-emitting diode display screen on an upper portion of the clamshell, with the keyboard assembly mechanically coupled to the display assembly via a mechanical hinge. Accordingly, the keyboard assembly and the display assembly may be rotated to an open position in order for a user to use the laptop. Conversely, a user may fold a laptop into its closed position for transportation, and thus may be suitable for mobile use.
In addition, information handling systems often include a small camera, sometimes referred to as a webcam. Such camera may feed or stream captured images in real time to or through an information handling system or to or through a network of information handling systems. A video stream or still images captured by the camera may be saved, viewed, or communicated to other networks via systems such as the Internet. In laptops, cameras are often integrated within the laptop form factor.
As laptop form factors evolve to increasingly narrow bezels and thinner display assemblies, cameras integrated into laptops have become smaller, lower resolution, and of shorter lens length. Further, in some existing or contemplated future form factors, a camera may not fit in its historical position in a bezel at a top of the display assembly. Existing solutions include placing a camera at the bottom of the display assembly (e.g., in order to avoid interference with display electronics) or placing the camera into the keyboard assembly, which may have more space for a higher-quality/higher-resolution camera. However, if the camera is placed in the keyboard assembly in a fixed position relative to the remainder of the keyboard assembly, the camera may not be at an optimal angle for the user's position. In addition, for laptops with 360-degree hinges allowing for the laptop to be placed in a “tablet mode” placement in the keyboard assembly means the camera will face away from the user when in such tablet mode.